Brad Pitt: The producer and actor walked the red carpet for the critically acclaimed 12 Years a Slave and scored big "he's not a jerk" points because he spoke to "pretty much all of the [60-some] media outlets," according to one reporter, who added: "Yes, he is as stunningly handsome in real life as he is on the big screen." The film debuted to "to gasps, audible tears, a smattering of appalled walkouts, and a prolonged standing ovation." [The Globe and Mail/The Guardian]

Nicole Kidman: Appearing in support of her movie The Railway Man, the actress was praised for bringing her "style A-game" to the red carpet. She was wearing "a tailored pant suit which featured sheer cutouts with black floral lace on the blazer, cropped trousers and seriously sexy pointed toe pumps with a flat bow on the tip." [The Huffington Post Canada]

Roger Ebert: The late film critic was an ardent supporter of the festival for more than 30 years, and so it was fitting that he received a tribute during the opening night festivities. His wife, Chaz Ebert, accepted a commemorative plaque in his honor; it's similar to one that also "graces a seat" at one of the festival's venues. Ms. Ebert recalled about her husband: "He felt when a movie was at its best, it really helped you to see the humanity and heart of another person." [Los Angeles Times]

The Big Chill Cast Reunion: Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, JoBeth Williams, Meg Tilly, Mary Kay Place and Tom Berenger reunited for a screening of a restored version of Lawrence Kasdan's film, and stayed for a conversation afterwards, reflecting upon the past 30 years since its premiere at the festival. "We can look back and say that was a very special time," observed Close. [Toronto Star]

Around the Web

Blue Is the Warmest Color: The stars of this romantic, French-language film about a relationship between two young women did damage control on an earlier interview in which they described conditions on set as "horrible." Now one of them acknowledges, "It was all true, but maybe we didn’t realize exactly what we were saying. When you see the interview on the page, it looks terrible. I’m not complaining. I chose to be an actress. We’re not victims.” Meanwhile, the director stated about one of the actresses: "She is not in phase with reality when she speaks about pain. Being an actor is not a trade of pain. … You stay in the best hotels, do interviews, wear jewels. I don’t see where the suffering is." [The Globe and Mail]

Boogie Nights Live Reading: Jason Reitman, whose new drama Labor Day is screening at the festival, staged a live reading of Paul Thomas Anderson's script for Boogie Nights on Friday night. He recruited an all-star cast: Jesse Eisenberg as Dirk Diggler (the role played by Mark Wahlberg), Josh Brolin as a porn filmmaker (originally Burt Reynolds), Olivia Wilde and Dakota Fanning as porn stars (originally Julianne Moore and Heather Graham, respectively), plus Dane Cook, Jason Sudeikis and more. [The Wrap]

Swag Bag: Eager to have the stars sample -- and possibly display -- their wares, festival sponsors and other advertisers are only too happy to make many items available in gift lounges; this year, there are at least five such lounges set up in Toronto for celebrities and other honored guests. The goodies range from "Spicy Scarlett TIFF-inspired cocktails, which mix lemonade and cayenne in homage to Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon" to eyebrow touch-ups to best-selling books by Toronto authors to "handcrafted wood and fibreglass accessories" to computer tablets to hand massages to gum and chewable multivitamins. [National Post]

Tim's Vermeer: A documentary by magicians Penn & Teller follows an inventor named Tim as he attempts to duplicate a famous painting by the artist Johannes Vermeer. Early reviews have been quite positive, as in this one from its "preview" screening at Telluride: "It’s not a doc that will entice art history buffs or change anyone’s mind about Vermeer (maybe), but it is a doc that will make you smile, laugh and watch in awe as one man, who has never painted before, attempts to recreate [sic] Vermeer with his own hand." [First Showing]

My Own Private Toronto

A curated selection of tweets from festival attendees:

Even though I didn't get amazing pictures or an autograph, I still got to see my hero.. Live. That's good enough for me. @zacefron#TIFF13

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